Oyster River

Oyster River Students Honored by Scholastic Writing Awards

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Oyster River Cooperative School District
SAU No. 5
Superintendent James Morse
36 Coe Drive
Durham, NH 03824

For Immediate Release

Monday, Feb. 11, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Oyster River Students Honored by Scholastic Writing Awards

Several Oyster River Middle School students have been recognized for their original writing submissions to the 2019 Scholastic Writing Awards. Back row, left to right: Tyler Nelson, Marcus Anderson, Justin Partis, Michael O’Laughlin, Henry Hagen, Annika Baumgardt, Madelyn Marthouse, Julia Kinsey, Paige Burt. Front row, left to right: Elsie Paxton, Ava Gruner, Elizabeth Walent, Dillon Crockett, Kelly Zhang, Amelia Nott, Zoe Selig, Mary Jeong, Libby Davidson. Not pictured: Sabrina Golden and Sophie Meyer. (Photo Courtesy of Oyster River Cooperative School District)

DURHAM – Superintendent James Morse is pleased to announce that several eighth grade students at Oyster River Middle School have been recognized by the 2019 Scholastic Writing Awards.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards annually recognize middle and high school students from across the United States for their exceptional art and writing work, and offers students the opportunity to have their submissions publicly displayed and published.

In the state of New Hampshire, 750 submissions were entered into the Scholastic Writing Awards by middle and high school students. Of those, 76 submissions were awarded Gold Keys, 158 submissions received Silver Keys, and 105 Honorable Mentions were given statewide.

Submissions to the Scholastic Writing Awards are judged on their originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.

“Oyster River students have represented the district very well in the Scholastic Writing Awards, year after year,” Superintendent Morse said. “The poems, personal essays, short stories, and other works submitted this year reflect their hard work and talent for writing. It’s a pleasure to see their submissions recognized.”

At Oyster River Middle School, eight students were awarded Gold Keys for their work, eight students received Silver Keys, and seven students were given Honorable Mentions.

Gold Key recipients at Oyster River Middle include Annika Baumgardt for her poem “taste the rainbow,” Dillon Crockett for his personal essay “Floating,” Ava Gruner for her personal essay “Taken by the Wind,” Henry Hagen for his personal essay “Home is a Place with a Purple Fence,” Julia Kinsey for her poem “The Children of War,” Sophie Meyer for her poem “Tallying the Daily Dead,” Amelia Nott for her short story “When the Light Shines,” and Elsie Paxton for her poem “Your Words.”

“When I found out I won a gold key, I was really proud of myself,” said Dillon Crockett, an eighth grade student. “The fact that something that I wrote was recognized was really important to me.”

“I wrote down what I was feeling and what I remembered feeling,” said Ava Gruner, an eighth grade student, about her Gold Key winning personal essay. “While I was revising my memoir, I took out unnecessary dialogue that made it less dramatic, and I tried to make whoever was listening infer what I was feeling.”

“I was surprised when I won a gold key just because I never thought I would write something that other people would actually recognize and understand what I was trying to say,” she added. “I was pretty happy to see what I wrote getting recognized because I put so much emotion into it.”

Silver Keys were awarded to Annika Baumgardt for her poem “Ordinary Eyes,” Libby Davidson for her personal essay “I Live to Be Me,” Sabrina Golden for her flash fiction piece “The Unanswered Questions That Never Stopped Hurting,” Madelyn Marthouse for her personal essay “I Didn’t Even Get to Say Goodbye” and her poem “Some Will Never See Home Again,” Sophie Meyer for her personal essay “How to Say Goodbye,” Tyler Nelson for the poem “Twinkle Twinkle,” Amelia Nott for her science fiction/fantasy piece “A Spill of Ink,” and Elizabeth Walent for her poem “The (not so) Perfect World.”

“I actually wrote both of my poems in a three day period,” said Annika Baumgardt, an eighth grade student who was awarded both a Gold and a Silver Key. “I never really liked writing poetry, and writing in general wasn’t really my strong suit, but I was really in a creative mood when I started writing and I was surprised that I came up with something I was proud of. This was really the first time I’ve taken poetry writing seriously, and now I’m more open to writing other poems.”

Several students were also given Honorable Mentions, including Marcus Anderson for his flash fiction piece “Kamikaze,” Paige Burt for her poem “The World Needs to Make a Change,” Mary Jeong for her personal essay “White Cat on Daisy Drive,” Michael O’Laughlin for his personal essay “Wedding Band,” Justin Partis for his personal essay “When Calm Peaks” and his poem “Storm,” Zoe Selig for her poem “Refugees, Not Enemies,” and Kelly Zhang for her critical essay “You’ll Get Run Over, Honey.”

Students that were recognized in the 2019 Scholastic Writing Awards will be honored in an Awards Ceremony at Plymouth State University this May. Winning submissions will also be published in “Middle High School Voices,” an anthology of award winning writing by New Hampshire middle and high school students.

The 2019 Scholastic Writing Awards and “Middle High School Voices” was sponsored locally by the National Writing Project in New Hampshire.

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Oyster River Educator Named Middle School Principal of the Year by New Hampshire Association of School Principals

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Oyster River Cooperative School District
SAU No. 5
Superintendent James Morse
36 Coe Drive
Durham, NH 03824

For Immediate Release

Monday, Feb. 11, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]net

Oyster River Educator Named Middle School Principal of the Year by New Hampshire Association of School Principals

DURHAM –Superintendent James Morse is pleased to announce that Oyster River Middle School Principal Jay Richard has been named the Middle School Principal of the Year by the New Hampshire Association of School Principals (NHASP).

Richard was nominated for the award by Oyster River Assistant Superintendent Todd Allen.

“He has been so committed to middle school education for his whole career,” Assistant Superintendent Allen said. “He’s just a really good, honest guy who really cares about his kids. He’s always doing what he can to make kid’s experiences at the middle school better. That really stands out.”

Richard has worked at Oyster River Cooperative School District for 20 years, and has been the principal at Oyster River Middle for the past 10 years. He began his career in the district as a special education teacher, and also worked as an assistant principal for five years.

In his nomination application on Richard’s behalf, Assistant Superintendent Allen highlighted the principal’s contributions the Oyster River Middle School math and advisory programs, as well as his support of after school activities.

Richard collaborated with the math department at Oyster River to lower the requirements students must meet to take Algebra in the eighth grade, and created a voluntary summer math enrichment program to support students looking to strengthen their math skills. In summer 2018, more than 200 students participated in the voluntary math program. As a result of these initiatives, Oyster River Middle has consistently seen 95 percent of students have met the competencies of the Algebra I course and are able to start high school with math credit.

He also supported changes to the advisory program at the school to put students in small groups with one teacher during advisory periods. The advisory groups develop close relationships among the students and their advisory teacher, and together they participate in volunteer, fundraising, and school spirit events.

In an effort to foster a welcoming environment for all students at Oyster River Middle, Richard has also fostered a thriving array of after school activities for students to participate in, often run by parent and community volunteers. A few examples of student groups he has supported include the ski club, chess club, bridge club, Mind-Craft club, Robotics club, and the outing club.

“It’s wonderful to see Jay recognized by the New Hampshire Association of School Principals for his efforts to make Oyster River Middle School a welcoming environment for students to flourish and grow as they explore their interests,” Superintendent Morse said.

The New Hampshire Association of School Principals will honor Richard, as well as Salem High School Principal Tracy Collyer, Riddle Brook School Principal Molly McCarthy, and Windham High School Assistant Principal Matthew Malila, at its first Leadership Academy from June 26 to June 28 at the Omni Mt. Washington Resort in Bretton Woods.

The four educators will also be recognized at the New Hampshire Excellence in Education Awards Celebration, also known as the EDies awards, on June 8 at the DoubleTree Hilton Manchester Downtown Hotel in Manchester.

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Oyster River Schools Recognize National School Counseling Week

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Oyster River Cooperative School District
SAU No. 5
Superintendent James Morse
36 Coe Drive
Durham, NH 03824

For Immediate Release

Monday, Feb. 4, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Oyster River Schools Recognize National School Counseling Week

Oyster River Cooperative School District counseling staff painted owls during a team building and self-care activity on Oct. 5, 2018 at the Offbeat Owl in Exeter. Back row, left to right: Hannah Cunningham, Sean Peschel, Sandi Osterloh, Jason Baker, Dagmar Lamberts, Brenda Terrell, Rheanna Cote, JoAn Saxe, Ryan Long. Front row, left to right: Kim Sekera, Heather Machanoff, Carina Dolcino, Kim Cassamas, Jean Wons. (Courtesy Photo Oyster River Cooperative School District)

DURHAM –Superintendent James Morse is pleased to announce that Oyster River Cooperative School District will recognize the support, resources, and programming school counselors provide to students starting Monday for National School Counseling Week.

Sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), National School Counseling Week begins Monday, Feb. 4, and ends Friday, Feb. 8.

“Oyster River is fortunate to have school counselors who place students at the center of all decisions,” Morse said. “It’s not about the district or the school, it’s the child and the child’s needs. Oyster River counselors know success in school means addressing all aspects of the child, from mental health and wellness to academics.”

Oyster River Cooperative School District has made it a priority over the last decade to create a comprehensive K-12 counseling program. In July 2016, counseling and administration staff underwent a crisis response training and have also worked to improve the crisis response process in the district.

“National School Counseling Week recognizes school counselors who implement comprehensive school counseling programs, a vital part of the educational process for all students as they meet the challenges of the 21st century,” said Heather Machanoff, K-12 Counseling Director.

The district has also adopted CASEL standards for Social Emotional Learning, which seek to support student self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision making, and relationship skills in the classroom, at school, at home, and in the community.

According to Machanoff, counseling staff at Oyster River have also been able to use resources including the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey to implement targeted programming and interventions for students.

At the elementary school, teachers are currently testing a Social Emotional Learning Curriculum, which includes initiatives such as the Open Circle program in Kindergarten through grade four. Oyster River Middle School is also developing an advisory program, and last year Oyster River High School delivered a ‘Bringing in the Bystander’ training to address sexual harassment. The district also held a student led community mental health forum in November, and HAVEN programming has extended to include grades five through eight in addition to Kindergarten through grade four.

“Focusing our school and broader community on mental health was brought to the forefront with the adoption of a 2015 school board goal surrounding mental health,” Machanoff said. “The work began with a number of community based events, and the focus has shifted to a more programmatic approach. Our mental health team including school counselors and school psychologists evaluate programming to support our students while building skills.”

“Our programming and approach is evolving as a result of the changing needs of our students and families,” she added.

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Oyster River Mental Health Wellness Committee to Host Community Forum

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Oyster River Cooperative School District
SAU No. 5
Superintendent James Morse
36 Coe Drive
Durham, NH 03824

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-000
Email: [email protected]

Oyster River Mental Health Wellness Committee to Host Community Forum

DURHAM — The Oyster River High School Student Mental Health Wellness Committee is pleased to announce that it will host a forum later this month and invites the public to attend.

WHEN:

Thursday, Nov. 29 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

A fall harvest community dinner will be held prior to the event from 5-6:30 p.m. To RSVP and purchase tickets, click here.

WHERE:

Oyster River High School, 55 Coe Drive

WHAT:

As part of the district’s work to improve mental health awareness and support, students in the Mental Health Wellness Committee organized an evening for community members to learn more about mental illness, stigma and adolescent brain development.

Following the tragic passing of an Oyster River student last year, a group of students approached high school administrators to form a mental health group, and thus the committee was formed. Members include juniors Joe Morrell, Grace Smith and Genevieve Weichert, and seniors Kerstin Nielsen, Roni Robert and Emma Wiechert.

“We as a group are committed to continuing the important conversation around mental health and stigma and sharing the message of awareness, resilience and hope,” said Kindergarten through 12th grade Counseling Director Heather Machanoff, who is an adviser on the committee. “Through our events we work to spread awareness and reduce stigma, make others aware of the resources available and share the message that mental illness is treatable and suicide is preventable.”

Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and will hear personal stories of awareness, resilience and hope from those directly affected by a mental illness.

The committee will also make special presentations to students during the day. Freshmen will learn about adolescent brain development, while sophomores and juniors will receive information from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill – New Hampshire.

Smith will also share a personal story with 10th and 11th grade students about her brother who was recently diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder, Depressive Type. Representatives from the University of New Hampshire Office of Health and Wellness will present to seniors on substance use and misuse.

“By sharing my story I hope to provide my peers with more information in order to leave them more educated on the subject,” Smith said. “By educating our society on mental illnesses I believe we can reduce the stigma that surrounds them and help those suffering find the help and support they need and deserve.”

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